The Burden of Being the Savior
by haleigh91
Summary: My rendition of NYCS, Post-Walsh. Emma struggles with being the Savior once again. Thankfully, this time, she has Hook there to comfort her. Comfort, slight angst, and fluff. Captain Swan.


She frantically ran down the hall, the roof door crashing loudly behind her. Her breathing became labored as the tears began to form in the corners of her emerald eyes. Emma could hear noisy footsteps behind her, confirming her thoughts that he was following her. But no, she didn't have time to think of it now, of HIM now. All she could think about was that her almost-fiancé had just turned into a freaking flying monkey. Everything had always been a lie.

Why does everything have to be so difficult for her? Was that the price of being the Savior? No peace. No happiness. No love. It all just seemed too much; the last twenty-four hours blurring through her mind as she desperately tried to sort out the old memories from the new.

Emma reached her apartment and slung the door open with shaky hands. She could feel herself slowly being pulled under, the sobs hitting even harder now. The door slammed closed behind her, probably hitting Hook in the face. But again she couldn't think about him.

She barely made it to her room in one piece, letting her closet door fly open, suitcases and clothes being slung across the room in a frenzied attempt to pack. She frantically shoved clothes into her bag; not paying attention to what she was doing as the hot tears streamed down her face. And she was definitely not paying attention to the pirate who was watching her as he leaned against her doorframe. She hadn't even heard him enter her bedroom.

"Swan," he quietly protested from his place across the room. Even though she heard him, Emma continued to throw her garments into her luggage, angrily wiping away the flowing tears from her red cheeks.

"Come on, love, talk to me."

Again she remained silent, her fury growing more and more by the second. The more she thought about her life and its unfairness the harder she thrust her attire into the bag.

"Emma!" he finally yelled, worried etched across his face and deep into his arched eyebrows.

"What?" she yelled back, dramatically throwing her arms up in the air, clothes flying away in the process. "What do you want, Hook? Do you want to tell me how messed up I am? How I'm the Savior and that's its my purpose to save everyone? Well guess what. For once, I'm tired of saving everyone. I can never get a moment to myself. A moment of happiness." Her voice grew quiet as she drew her arms around her chest. "Maybe for once, I just need someone to save me."

And with that she crumbled to the ground. Sobs racking her entire body she trembled as she pulled her knees up against her chest in the fetal position. The next few moments became a blur, her vision going black the harder she cried. She didn't even hear him approach her and, for a moment, she didn't even realize how she had made it to her bathroom; until she realized that he had carried her there.

As her sobs subsided she spread her shaky hands onto the cold tile floor where she lay, mindlessly tracing patterns. And that's when she felt it. Him. Hook. The heat radiating from his body onto hers. Emma pulled her head up onto to find his face inches from her, worried set deep in his face. He pulled up his good hand to cup her cheek, rubbing away a stray tear in the process.

"Take off your clothes, Swan," he whispered, not in a seductive way but in a caring, comforting fashion. When she didn't respond, neither positively nor negatively surprisingly, he began to work his fingers against the buttons of her coat, slipping it off and hurriedly pulling her sweater over her head in the process.

Emma was too out of it to make a remark or even care about what he was doing. The only thing that she could feel in this moment were his warm fingers against her cold flesh, burning through her skin as he ran his fingers across her stomach and down to the buttons of her plaid pants.

In one solid, quick movement her pants were off, leaving her clothed only in her underwear on the bathroom floor. Even if she wanted to speak, to protest, at the moment, she couldn't. She opened her mouth several times to say something to him, yet nothing would come out; almost as if her voice had been sucked right from her.

Emma let out a sigh as she felt him slip his arm under her knees, the other supporting her bare back as he gently pulled her up against his chest, walking a short distance, and then slowly lowering her into the hot bath water.

A low moan escaped her mouth as she became submerged in the warm water, her eyes rolling back in her head in pleasure. She felt something rough against her skin and, slowly lifting her heavy eyelids, she realized that he was bathing her. Cleaning her. Wiping away all the hurt.

She winced in pain as he ran the washcloth over her wrist. He turned it over to see a long, red cut; the kind that looked like it came from a monkey's claw.

"Swan, did he do this to you?"

Again, she couldn't seem to form the words, so she just nodded her head in confirmation. It looked as if all of the air had been sucked from his body too as his jaw snapped tightly shut. She could tell he was angry, seething.

"The bastard," he muttered through gritted teeth as she slowly and carefully continued to clean her injury.

Hook continued to clean her, wiping away the dirt from her skin, memorizing every curve of her body. He ran his warm fingers across her bare hip and she accidentally let out a low moan in pleasure. He could feel that moan go straight to his manhood. Hook bit his lip to keep from saying something inappropriate. Now was definitely not the time be having those thoughts about her. Not when she was this wounded and weak.

As he continued to bathe her, he realized how tense she was. Sweeping her blonde hair to one side, he used his good hand to massage her shoulders, working out the kinks and smoothing away the stress. Emma's head fell forward, sighing, enjoying his touch way too much.

"More," she whispered huskily. It was the first word she had uttered since her outburst. She felt him tense behind her. None of this was meant to be experienced in a sexual way, but the words, touches and moans were more sexually charged than intended. He had always hoped that he would hear her beg under more, uh, pleasant circumstances.

"Swan," he gently warned, as if her words and noises were going to make him loose control altogether. He had to keep it under control. For her.

"Please," she whimpered, her body deflating in the process. She turned her head slightly so that her green eyes met his blue ones, her chin resting gently on her shoulder. She could see the lust hurriedly consuming him, yet she ignored it. She just needed him to be here.

Biting the inside of his cheek to keep himself in check, he nodded, digging his fingers deeper into her sore flesh, working magic across her skin. Oh how much she needed this. After one blissful year, she had her whole past dumped on top of her in just one night. It was a lot for one woman to handle alone. That's why she needed him to help her carry this burden. The burden of being the Savior.

Hook finished up cleaning her before linking his hand through hers and helping her to her feet. He grabbed a large, fluffy towel from her counter and wrapped it around her body, the warmth quickly enveloping her. She made an attempt to step out of the bathtub but before she could Hook had already picked her up, holding her tightly once again against his slightly exposed chest.

He carried her to her bedroom, placing her gently on her bed before rummaging around through her drawers, searching for nightclothes. Internally groaning as he opened a drawer to reveal her underclothes, very scandalous, sexy undergarments as well, he fingered the lingerie and could only imagine what it looked like on her. He quickly grabbed her plaid pajamas and slammed it shut, trying keep the naughty thoughts from entering his mind.

Approaching her once again, he tenderly redressed her, hiding her beautiful skin beneath the plain flannel. He slowly buttoned up her top, struggling with only one good hand. When she could tell how frustrated he was at his inability, she carefully placed her hand on top of his, his head snapping up as their eyes met each other, her skin burning against his.

"I've got it," she whispered. "You've done enough already."

Although she was tired and worn down, Emma finally managed to finish buttoning her top, leaving the top few undone, immediately drawing his attention to her somewhat exposed chest. Bloody minx.

The pair sat in silence for a few moments, enjoying the quiet environment around them, just enjoying each other's company, his hand resting on her cheek. She instinctively leaned into his touch. Breathing a sigh of relief, she opened her eyes to look at him. She was surprised to see him already watching her, blue eyes looking on fondly, adoringly.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" she questioned into the silence. Biting her bottom lip, she reached her hand to lie on top of his that was resting on her cheek, staring at him through hooded eyes.

"Emma, I will always look at you like this," he lovingly stated, bringing his forehead to rest against her, their noses awkwardly bumping as his thumb brushed across her cheek. They stayed like this for a few minutes, which in its entirety felt like hours.

"I better go, Swan," Hook spoke softly, lifting his head up to place a tender kiss against her forehead. He heard her sharp intake of breath as his lips touched her skin.

She silently nodded. He scooped her up, placing her at the top of the bed and pulled the sheets onto her, tucking her in. As he placed the sheets up around her neck, she stopped him, placing her hand onto his and lacing their fingers together.

"Thank you," she whispered, her eyes meeting his once again. Being the open book that she was, the thank you was all that was needed. He knew exactly how much she needed his assistance tonight. But what she had needed even more than that was his company.

"Anytime, lass" he responded, lifting their entwined hands up to his lips to place a sweet kiss onto her knuckles. He gave her a small smile as he dropped her hand and headed towards the door. He could hear her shift behind him before her voice softly called out.

"Hook?" The hesitance was evident in her voice.

"Yes, love?" he inquired, turned back to face her from his place in her doorframe, back to the place where it had all started tonight. He could tell that she was nervous, battling internally, wondering if she should speak.

"Will you stay with me tonight?"

Closing his eyes and breathing out, much like he did back in the Echo Caves in Neverland before he told her his secret, Hook made his way across her room to her bed in just a few short strides. He nervously approached her, sliding his coat off and tossing his boots to the floor. Timidly, he sat down on the bed, waiting for her approval.

"Are you sure, love?" he questioned, giving her one more chance to change her mind. Although he knew they wouldn't be having sex, or anything of the like, Hook still knew that this was an intimate situation and he didn't want to push his boundaries or put any pressure on her.

Emma didn't answer though. She just grabbed his hand and gently tugged him onto the bed; he tentatively lay down beside her. Sighing, she pulled his arm around her waist, cuddling into his chest, enjoying his warmth and closeness. Finally, she felt him relax against her as he placed a kiss into her golden locks.

"Goodnight, Swan."

She smiled into his chest. "Goodnight, Killian."

"Mom!"

She jolted awake to the sunlight pouring into her apartment, streaming through the curtains and onto her skin, making her blonde tresses shimmer. Glancing up, she saw Henry at the foot of her bed, eyeing her curiously.

"What time is it, kid?" she groggily inquired, glancing over at her alarm clock as she pushed the matted hair from her face.

"7:15. You kind of overslept."

And then Emma panicked. Memories from last night came flooding back into her mind. The touches, the glances, the warmth from his body radiating onto her as they slept, limbs tangled. Running a hand through her hair, she quickly looked over to the other side of her bed to find it empty.

"Mom, are you okay?" he questioned in a worried tone, his young eyes watching her every move.

"Uh, yeah. I'm fine. Thanks. Go get dressed."

Henry nodded before turning away and heading down the hall. Emma breathed out a sigh of relief that Hook had left before Henry arrived home. And although she was happy that she didn't get caught like a teenager sneaking a boy in overnight, she felt empty; saddened that he had left without a goodbye.

Glancing over to the side of the bed where he had slept, she noticed a slip of paper. She reached out to pick up the note and reread it several times, a small smile slipping across her face.

_Swan,_

_You looked too peaceful to wake up, so I let you sleep in. I will be back in an hour after the boy has arrived. See you in a bit._

_- Killian_

_P.S. - Did I say peaceful? I meant beautiful._

Emma blushed and held the note to her chest. Maybe a moment of peace would never be in the cards for the Savior. Maybe she would never reach that famous happy ending. But for once, even after all of the hell she endured yesterday, there was a spark of hope. Hope for her future. Hope with a man that was just as broken and messed up as she was. And even though it scared the hell out of her, hope with Killian Jones, the man who had rescued her. He had saved her.


End file.
